Breakdown of Vanavond gaan wij naar het theater om een nieuw toneelstuk te zien.
wij
we
gaan
to go
naar
to
nieuw
new
zien
to see
om
for
een
a, an
vanavond
tonight
het theater
the theatre
het toneelstuk
the play
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Questions & Answers about Vanavond gaan wij naar het theater om een nieuw toneelstuk te zien.
Why is vanavond at the beginning of the sentence, and why do we say gaan wij instead of wij gaan?
Dutch is a verb‐second (V2) language. When you start a main clause with an element other than the subject (here vanavond, a time adverbial), the finite verb (gaan) must come second, pushing the subject (wij) into third position. You could also say Wij gaan vanavond..., but then wij would be first and gaan second.
Why do we use gaan here rather than simply zien?
The construction gaan + infinitive expresses a future plan or intention—similar to English “going to.” Vanavond gaan wij... zien means “Tonight we’re going to see...” If you used just zien, it would be present tense (“we see”) without the sense of planning to go somewhere.
What’s the difference between wij and we in Dutch?
Both mean “we.” Wij is the full, stressed form used for emphasis or in formal/written contexts. We is the unstressed, conversational form. You could say Vanavond gaan we naar het theater... in everyday speech.
Why is it het theater and not de theater?
Theater is a neuter noun in Dutch, so it takes the definite article het. Dutch nouns are either de‐words (common gender) or het‐words (neuter), and you must learn the article with each noun.
Can we say naar theater without the article?
No. Locations like het theater normally require an article. You need naar + het + noun. Leaving out het would be ungrammatical here.
What does om een nieuw toneelstuk te zien mean, and why is te zien at the end?
This is a purpose clause: om + infinitive clause expresses “in order to.” In Dutch infinitive clauses, the verb (zien) is preceded by te and placed at the end of the clause. So literally “in order a new play to see.”
Could we use kijken instead of zien—for example om een nieuw toneelstuk te kijken?
Although kijken means “to look/watch,” Dutch normally uses zien when talking about attending performances. Om een nieuw toneelstuk te zien is the idiomatic choice. Using kijken here sounds odd.
What exactly is a toneelstuk?
Toneelstuk is the Dutch word for a stage play or theatrical work. It’s a compound of toneel (“theater”) and stuk (“piece”). In English: “a play.”
Why do we say een nieuw toneelstuk and not het nieuwe toneelstuk?
Using een (an) makes it indefinite—you’re not referring to a specific play the listener already knows. If you meant a particular play that’s already been mentioned, you’d say het nieuwe toneelstuk (“the new play”).